


Aftershocks

by marbie20



Category: The Hollow (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 00:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15473409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marbie20/pseuds/marbie20
Summary: Sequel to Back to The Hollow:After their latest trip to The Hollow, Kai has had frequent nightmares about his experience there and doesn't understand why it is affecting him so much more than his friends. Adam and Mira try to help him through this and let him know he's not alone.





	1. Chapter 1

 

It had been a month since they got back from saving The Hollow. Even though Mira and Adam were fine and happy to be back, Kai felt differently. He was glad to be back home, but he couldn’t seem to stop the nightmares. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the collapsed amusement park, fighting to get back to his friends. He never told Adam and Mira this…but he was scarred. He barely admits it to himself. He knew he was going to be okay, but for a few seconds, he felt completely helpless and alone. If something had happened to him, then his friends would have been left alone.

Along with nightmares of the park, he had frequent nightmares where he was face to face with the other team by himself and no powers. In his nightmares, Adam and Mira never show up and he’s left to fend for himself. The dreams never end in his favor.

Kai woke up in a cold sweat after one especially terrible nightmare. He rubbed his eyes and threw the covers off of his body. He pulled his knees up to his chest and sighed. He was never going to get any sleep if these kept up. He looked over at his phone and debated calling Adam or Mira, but then decided against it. He didn’t want to bother them this late at night. He laid back down and closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep but as soon as he closed his eyes, he saw Reeve throwing him across the forest. He knew that these nightmares were irrational and he was safe, but his mind didn’t know that. Kai kept his eyes open and decided to try and read a book or something to keep his mind occupied.

He threw his legs out of bed and lumbered to his bookshelf to grab a favorite book. He ended up grabbing Adam’s favorite book and crawled back into bed. He opened the book and saw the note Adam had left for him: _Read this for when you want a piece of me. I love you, forever and always. Yours, Adam._ Kai smiled and his heart started pounding. He loved Adam so much and yearned for him to be sitting next to him. He looked over at his phone again, tempted to call Adam. But he really didn’t want to be a bother and just looked back at the book. Eventually, after the words started swimming in front of his eyes, he fell asleep.

He woke up to his mom shaking his shoulder. Kai blinked and saw his mom’s concerned eyes.

“Kai, honey, what’s wrong?”

He groaned and sat up. “What do you mean?”

She sat on the edge of his bed. “Kai, you were crying and muttering in your sleep. You seemed very afraid.”

Kai sighed and rubbed his eyes. The nightmares were becoming worse if he was reacting to them in real life. He grasped his mom’s hand. “I’m okay, thanks for checking up on me.”

She offered a small smile. “Do you want me to call Adam or Mira to come over?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s late and I don’t want to wake them.” He smiled. “I’ll be okay, Mom. I’ll just talk to them in the morning. Don’t worry.”

She just smiled and said, “I always worry. Goodnight.”

She turned off the light and closed the door. Kai laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was never going to get any sleep, was he?

***

The next morning, Kai felt groggy and sleep deprived. He was freezing and his stomach was in knots. He had a tickle in his throat and a twitch in his nose. Kai knew this feeling way too well and dreaded the near future. He rolled over in bed and a cough erupted from his throat. He heard the door creak open and his mom’s voice drifted in.

“Honey, I brought you some breakfast. Hungry?”

Kai stifled a couch. “Um, no not really.”

She walked in and sat on his bed. “How are you feeling?”

He knew he couldn’t hide his illness from his mother and rolled over to face her. She gasped at his pale face and the bags under his eyes. She put a hand to his forehead.

“Oh sweetie, you’re burning up.”

Kai coughed into his elbow. “I think it’s because of the lack of sleep.” He sighed. “I haven’t been sleeping much for the past month, maybe an hour or two each night.”

Concern swept across her face. “And why is that?”

Kai debated telling her the truth but decided it wouldn’t hurt. “I’ve been having nightmares. I recently went on a…excursion…with Adam and Mira and it has affected me more than I realized.”

“Do they know? Your friends?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ve kind of been a little absent lately. I went through the experience a little differently than them and I…I’m nervous to admit how much it has affected me.”

His mom held his hand. “Kai, call them. You need to tell them.”

He nodded while stifling a sneeze. “Yeah, I’ll call them later.”

His mom raised an eyebrow. “Not later. You know what, I’ll go ahead and call them. You just rest.”

She left the room and Kai just fell back under the covers. “They are _not_ going to like this.” He chuckled. “They’re going to kill me.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Mira and Adam were hanging out in the clubhouse. They had noticed a slight chance in Kai.

“He hasn’t been wanting to hang out as much,” Adam said. “And I really haven’t seen him all week. Usually we call or see each other every night but I haven’t heard from him.”

Mira nodded. “I’m concerned about him. Something is definitely off.”

Just then, Adam’s phone rang. He looked at Mira with concern. “It’s Kai’s mother.”

He answered put it on speaker phone. “Hello,” he answered. “I’m here with Mira, you’re on speaker.”

“Hello you two,” she said. She sighed before continuing. “Would it be possible for either of you to come see Kai today? He really needs you even if he won’t admit it.”

Adam’s face contorted with concern. “What’s wrong? Is he okay??”

“He told me that he recently went on an excursion with the two of you.” Adam mouthed, _Hollow,_ at Mira and she nodded. Kai’s mother continued. “Apparently ever since, he’s been having frequent and very vivid nightmares. He’s barely slept this month. I heard him crying and muttering in his sleep last night. And this morning, he woke up sick because of the lack of sleep. He just needs his friends right now.”

“We’re on our way,” Mira said.

His mom thanked them and Adam hung up. He met Mira’s eyes. “He’s been having nightmares? Has he mentioned this to you at all?”

Mira shook her head. “Not a word. I wonder what his nightmares are about.”

Adam stood up and helped Mira out. “Let’s go find out.”

They went to Kai’s house and his mom let them in. “He’s in his room. He’s been in and out of sleep all day but his fever is keeping him awake.”

Adam’s heart dropped. The love of his life has been in pain for so long and Adam hadn’t been able to help at all. Mira grasped his hand, as if to read his mind. They walked into Kai’s room, and found him lying on his bed, his knees pulled up to his chest. He coughed into his elbow and shivered. Adam sat on the bed.

“Kai?” he asked softly.

Kai sat up quickly and felt a wave of dizziness. Mira steadied him and sat down on the bed. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Adam caressed Kai’s cheek and concern filled Adam’s face. “Baby you’re burning up. Please, let us help. What’s wrong?”

Kai coughed and tried clearing his throat. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Mira couldn’t hide her grin. “Well you’ve successfully worried us now.”

Kai chuckled softly and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I have.” He sighed. “I just…I felt so isolated. You two seemed fine after the game so I thought I was just overreacting.” He looked up at his friends and felt fear creeping up. “But it feels so real. Every time I close my eyes I’m back. And I’m helpless.”

Adam moved to sit next to Kai and pulled him close. He kissed Kai’s forehead and rubbed his shoulders to warm him up.

“Babe, we don’t think you’re overreacting at all. We are here for you, always. But we need to know what’s going on so that we can help.” He brushed the hair out of Kai’s eyes. “Now, what were the nightmares about?”

Mira grasped Kai’s hand reassuringly and Kai smiled at her. “Well, remember when the roller coaster fell on me? My nightmares begin there. For just a few minutes back then, I thought I was a gonner and I was so afraid that I was going to leave you two alone. In the nightmares, I can’t seem to escape and every time I seem to get closer to leaving, I just get pulled in further. I try to cry out for you, but you can’t hear me. And then I get transported to the tree when I faced the other team by myself before you two got there. But in the nightmare, I don’t have my powers and I’m alone. You never show up. I end up being defeated and I try to reach out to you but…I can’t. I can’t get to you. You’re gone.” Kai winced. “And that’s when I wake up.”

Adam looked at Mira in shock. He turned back to Kai and just held him. He felt such guilt and pain when he saw Kai in pain.

“Kai…that nightmare will never come true. We will always be there. I will always be there.” His heart ached. “Babe, I had no idea.” He sighed and then said, “I’m spending the night tonight.”

Mira nodded. “Me too. You won’t be alone tonight.”

Kai swallowed and said softly, “But I don’t want to get you sick.”

Adam looked into his eyes. “Kai, honey, don’t you worry about that. You need us and we’re here.”

Kai felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders and he sighed with relief. “I really appreciate you guys. I couldn’t admit it to myself, but I needed you.”

Mira raised an eyebrow. “Hun, we know. Your mom had to call us. That should be the first sign that it’s time to get help.”

Kai blushed in embarrassment. “Yeah…that was a poor decision on my part.”

Adam squeezed his shoulders. “Now that we’re here, try to get some rest. We’re not going anywhere, I promise. Just rest.”

Kai nodded and Adam tucked him into bed. Kai immediately fell asleep. Mira stood by the door, smiling. Adam crawled into bed next to Kai.

“I think I’m just going to hang out here with him,” Adam whispered to Mira.

She nodded. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

Adam rubbed Kai’s back affectionately and kissed his neck. “Goodnight, love. Hopefully the nightmares stay away.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kai woke up feeling worse than ever. His head was pounding and the tickle in his nose was stronger than ever. He rolled over and saw Adam lying next to him, his breathing steady and slow. Kai smiled and ran his fingers through Adam’s ruffled hair. His nose burned and he shoved his face into his covers to try and muffle his sneeze. A wave of sneezes came and Kai tried to silence them but was unsuccessful. Adam fluttered his eyes open and looked at Kai with concern. He rubbed Kai’s back affectionately.

“Hey,” Adam said quietly, “not feeling any better?”

Kai groaned and rolled to face Adam. “Not a bit.” He sniffled and coughed into the crook of his elbow. “I’m sorry I’m so sick right now.”

Adam’s kind eyes widened as he caressed Kai’s burning cheek. “You don’t have to apologize, baby. It’s not your fault that you’re sick. Just rest for now, okay?” He brought Kai’s hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “Do you want me to stay here with you?”

The corner of Kai’s mouth twitched. “If you don’t mind…”

Adam smiled. “Of course I don’t mind. I’m always here for you. Now, why don’t you try and get some more rest, okay? I can make you some soup.”

Kai hesitated before saying, “I don’t want you to leave.”

Adam chuckled. “Okay, just give me a second then.” He stood up and cracked open the door. “Hey, Mira?”

“Yeah?” she called from the living room.

“Do you mind making Kai some soup? He’s gotten worse.”

“Of course, I’ll make it right now.”

Adam thanked her and then crawled back into bed with Kai. “Mira is going to make you some soup, okay?”

Kai nodded and felt his eyelids becoming heavy. Adam gently kissed Kai’s forehead. “Sleep,” he whispered.

Kai fell asleep again. Adam smiled at his boyfriend and slowly crept out of bed to go meet Mira in the kitchen. She smiled sympathetically at him.

“How’s he doing?”

Adam sighed. “He didn’t want me to leave. I helped him get back to sleep and then I snuck out. He really needs rest.” He looked around. “Where is his mom?”

“She went to work. Once she knew that Kai was being taken care of, she felt like she could go to work and not worry.”

Adam leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I wish we could help her out more, you know?”

Mira nodded and touched his shoulder. “I understand where you are coming from, but what we are doing now is a tremendous help to her, at least that’s what she told me.” She went back to making soup. “I know it doesn’t seem like much, but us just being here helps.”

Adam grinned. “Then I’m glad we could help.”

Mira handed Adam the soup on a tray. “Here you go, Romeo. I’m going to clean up the house and just try to help his mom as much as possible.”

Adam smiled at her and took the tray. He went to Kai’s room and placed the tray on his bed stand. He grabbed a book from Kai’s bookshelf and then he sat on the bed and got underneath the covers. Kai was sleeping soundly, his breathing heavy. Adam opened the book and began reading. It was his favorite book, it even had a note from Adam to Kai on the cover page.

After about half an hour, Adam noticed that Kai started to fidget in his sleep. His face scrunched up and he started muttering. Then the muttering got louder and he started yelling. Adam reached over for Kai’s shoulder.

“Kai! Kai, wake up!”

Kai’s eyes shot open as he sat up quickly. He was breathing heavily and his cheeks were stained with tears. Adam’s heart was pounding as he stared at Kai.

“Kai…what happened?”

Kai tried to catch his breath. “The nightmare…it was all so real.” He pulled his knees to his chest and his heart pounded. “This is why I haven’t gotten much sleep.”

Adam scooted closer to Kai and pulled him close. “Shh, lay down. Just try and relax.”

Kai laid his head in Adam’s lap and tried to control his breathing. Adam played with Kai’s hair and tried to calm him down.

“Was it the same nightmare you have been having?”

Kai took a deep breath. “Yes…except worse.”

Adam looked down at Kai. “How worse?”

Kai winced and closed his eyes. “I know this would never happen but…” He paused, debating to go on. Adam ran his finger down Kai’s cheek.

“Hey, what happened?” he asked softly.

Kai relaxed as Adam touched his cheek. “In the nightmare, I saw you and Mira. But instead of helping, you left me…alone. I watched you walk away as Vanessa and Reeve tortured me. I tried calling out to you, but you just ignored my cries. The nightmare ended with Vanessa and Reeve trapping me and you leaving me.”

Adam was stunned. He didn’t know how to react, only that he was surprised that Kai thought he and Mira would abandon him. Adam just continued to run his finger along Kai’s face.

“Kai…we would never…” Adam trailed off.

Kai swallowed. “I know…but there’s still that fear…”

Without saying anything, Adam reached for his phone and texted Mira to meet him in the room. Mira came in smiling.

“How are you doing, Kai?”

Adam looked at Mira as if to say, _Please follow my lead._ “Kai…Mira and I would _never_ , I repeat, _never_ , leave you alone. Do you understand me? We would never abandon you, especially when you needed us the most.”

Mira kneeled down to look Kai in the eyes. “Kai, do you really think we would?”

He closed his eyes in shame. “It was just in the nightmare. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

Mira looked up at Adam with concern. He returned her gaze and leaned down to kiss Kai’s neck. Kai smiled contently and made a small sound of pleasure. Adam twirled Kai’s hand around his finger and sighed. He looked at Mira and then at the soup. Mira stifled a small chuckle.

“I’ll go heat up your soup for you, Kai, okay?”

Kai blinked in response and Mira left the room. Adam rubbed Kai’s back. “How are you feeling? Any better?”

Adam received a cough in response. “My head still hurts and I can’t really breathe through my nose, but other than that I’m okay.”

“So, that’s a no then.”

Kai chuckled softly. “Yeah, I guess so.” He was about to say something else when his nose twitched and he was able to cover his face just in time. He sneezed a few times, each one more powerful than the last. Kai groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Adam just rubbed his back affectionately.

“We’ll get through this, okay?”

Mira came back in with the soup. Adam helped Kai sit up and handed him the soup. “Here, eat this and you’ll start to feel better, okay?”

Kai only nodded. Adam took Mira’s hand and led her to the living room. “We need to talk.”


	4. Chapter 4

Adam sat next to Mira on the couch. Adam just took a deep breath. “Mira, Kai had a nightmare that we abandoned him and left him for dead. He seemed to almost not believe me when I told him that we would never do that.” He looked at Mira, concerned. “I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

Mira sighed. “I think I know.” She grasped Adam’s hand. “I know that you know a little about Kai’s past. But it is seeming to affect him more now.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “His dad left when he was so young and then his sister left with her boyfriend. He was left with just his mom, who was constantly working just to keep the family afloat. Kai was left alone most of the time. I guess when he was separated from us in the game, those emotions came back. Adam, I think he feels like we could abandon him at any moment.”

Adam’s heart hurt for his love. “That must be why he didn’t want me to leave him earlier.” He sighed and looked down. “How do we convince him that we’re not going anywhere?”

Mira shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess we have to just be there for him.”

Adam looked back towards the bedroom. “He’s never going to get better if those nightmares continue. He can’t sleep, so he can’t recover from his illness.”

Mira make Adam look at her. “I think I have a solution. I think you need to tell him how you were feeling back in the game.”

He lowered his brows. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean, when you thought Kai was dead. How you thought you would never see him again and how that hurt you. He needs to know that you felt the exact same way he did. He needs to know he’s not alone.”

Adam thought back to the game and how he felt so alone without Kai, even though he had Mira. He nodded. “You’re right, Mira. I’m going to go talk to him.”

Adam walked to the bedroom and found Kai lying in the bed, his back turned to the door. His empty soup bowl was on the bed stand. Adam crawled up next to Kai and wrapped his arms around Kai’s waist.

“Hey, you,” Adam said softly.

A shiver went down Kai’s spine and he smiled. “Hey, Adam. Long time no see.”

Adam took a deep breath and said, “I need to tell you something.”

Kai turned around to face Adam. “Yes?”

“Kai…I want you to know that you’re not alone in what you’re feeling.”

“What do you mean?”

“Back in the game, when I thought you died…I saw the coaster fall on you and I thought I lost you forever. I was devastated and I felt utterly alone, even though Mira was right there with me. I felt like a part of me was gone, and I wasn’t sure if when we finished the game that I would see you again. Mira had to practically drag me along just to get me to the tree. And when I saw you…I felt like I was complete again. But for a time there, I thought I had lost the love of my life…and I was crushed. Utterly crushed.” He took Kai’s hands. “I know you feel like that any moment Mira or I could disappear, but we won’t. We will always be there for each other.” He caressed Kai’s cheek. “Kai, I hate that in your nightmares you are seeing us leave you. But you have to know that we would never leave you. I want your nightmares to go away and I want you to sleep blissfully.” He felt Kai’s forehead and it was still burning. “You won’t get better until you finally get some rest. So I need you to know in your heart, that you will never be alone. I love you, and so does Mira. We both love you, Kai. Always have, always will.”

Kai’s heart pounded in his chest. He looked into Adam’s loving eyes. He knew that Adam spoke the truth and he was comforted by that thought.

“Adam…I needed to hear that…so badly.”

Adam hugged him and kissed his cheek. “I’m so glad.”

Mira walked in and leaned against the doorframe. “Are we all good here?”

Kai looked up at her and blushed. “Yeah, we’re all good here. Thanks, Mira.”

She smirked. “You’re welcome. Adam,” she called, “let’s go. Kai needs to sleep. Really sleep.” She looked at Kai. “Think you’ll be okay?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

Adam got out of bed and stood next to Mira. “We’ll be in the living room if you need anything, okay?”

Kai nodded and rolled over, falling asleep. Mira led Adam into the living room. “I think he’s finally going to be okay,” she said.

Adam smiled in agreement. “Yeah, he’s going to be okay.”


End file.
